My thoughts and feelings.

Posts Tagged ‘tree’

Have you ever received an annoying sales call? I’m betting your answer is ‘yes’. Well, I received one from my lawn care company that was quite literally the ‘last straw’ and caused me to completely cancel their service. Now, before you go thinking I’m just some crazy woman who was over-reacting, let me explain.

We had used this lawn care company for several years, both for our lawn as well as our trees and shrubs. They did keep our lawn lush, green and weed-free and the gentleman who cared for our trees and shrubs was amazing. He would talk to me about various diseases, insects and other details about how to keep my plants in tip top shape. I had absolutely NO complaints about their service.

I did, however have a problem with their sales department. It seemed as though they called me every few weeks about adding some service that they insisted was something I NEEDED. With each call I would politely decline several times, but they just wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer until I would quite emphatically insist that I did not want any additional services. The calls just kept coming and I finally asked them to put a ‘do not call’ message on my file because I did NOT want any other services except those that I had already signed up for. Well, I still continued to receive sales calls–and I continued to tell them that I did not want any future calls.

One day I got another call and I had reached the end of my patience. I told the sales person very clearly that if I received one more sales call from their company that I was going to cancel my services with them. I’m not usually person who would resort to using a threat like this, but nothing else had worked. I hoped that this would make the calls stop.

Well…..not even two weeks later I received a call from this company and when the person identified who they were, the first thing out of my mouth was “Are you kidding me?!?!?” (I have to be honest and admit that it was not said in a sweet tone of voice.) I told the person about my previous conversation concerning the cancellation of my service if I received any more calls and that THIS was that final call.

I immediately hung up, called the local office and cancelled all of my services with them. The operator apologized profusely and tried everything to get me to change my mind, but I was determined to stick to my decision. Finally she accepted the fact that I wasn’t giving in and we arranged for the termination of all services. I very adamantly told this person that I wanted my file clearly marked that I did not want ANY further calls from them for ANY reason.

Yep, you guessed it…..a few weeks later my phone rang and it was some person in management calling to see if he could somehow persuade me to change my mind and re-instate my contract. I’m sure he realized he was in for a rough road when upon identifying himself and heard these outraged words….“ARE YOU KIDDING ME?” (Again, not said in a very kind, sweet tone of voice.) Needless to say, he didn’t get very far and finally gave up.

I must say it has been a relief not to be receiving constant calls from them, but, the downside is that I am now searching for a new lawn care service. I would like to find a smaller, local company/person who will do a good job, but not be hounding me to add services that I don’t want or need. Any recommendations would be appreciated. I do need to warn you— do NOT mention TRU-GREEN or I will respond with “ARE YOU KIDDING ME?”

It is Valentine’s Day and I was given a VERY ‘cool’ gift—a beautiful snowy morning.

As I stepped out the back door I was greeted with a view that literally made me stop in my tracks. Everything was covered with a layer of beautiful, white snow. Something about the snow clinging to the branches made me feel like I had stepped in to a winter wonderland. Being in the season of Lent and purposefully focusing on the gifts God has given me, I couldn’t help but see this as a Valentine gift from the only One who can create such beauty.

I could not resist the urge to bundle up and head out for a walk with my dog, Denver. I took my camera along in order to capture some of this beauty while it lasted. With the sun beginning to shine on the trees, I knew the snow wouldn’t last long.

As I walked through the beautiful, white carpet of snow, it felt so invigorating and cleansing. Seeing all of nature covered in white reminded me of a scripture that was read last night at the Ash Wednesday service. Psalm 51:7 :Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. There is nothing more pure and clean than a fresh snowfall.

As I came to the part of the path where the sun had been shining the longest, I could already hear the snow beginning to melt and fall to the ground. I knew that it was only a matter of time before all of the trees, bushes and grass would lose their snowy covering. Being aware of this, I savored each moment and tried to appreciate every bit of the natural beauty as I walked.

Denver, my Golden Retriever also appreciated this special gift. When he first realized that we were going for a walk in the snowy field he began to frantically run around in large circles. It’s like he was so delighted that he just couldn’t contain himself any longer. It almost made me wish I was a dog so that I could find that much joy and excitement from something as simple as the snow.

As I headed back to the house to begin the work of the day, I stopped and took a few deep breaths and enjoyed the sounds of morning. I silently said my ‘thank you’ for the gift and took one last look into the field. Even now, looking out the window as I write these words, the trees are already bare. I am still thankful for my beautiful Valentine gift, no matter how short-lived. I want to carry that over in to the rest of my life—being thankful for ‘gifts’, even if they are only in my life for a short time.